Kenya pushes back against Big Tech with TikTok alternative UrbanTok

Kenya is taking platform monetisation into its own hands, launching UrbanTok, a short-form video app designed to support African creators locked out of many global payout systems.

The app, which went live at the Connected Africa Summit in Nairobi last week, is being positioned as a homegrown alternative to TikTok, with built-in monetisation and selling tools tailored to local markets.

“Developing our own digital spaces ensures we retain our economic value, data, and cultural narratives right here at home,” Kenya’s Principal Secretary for ICT and the Digital Economy, John Tanui, wrote on LinkedIn following the launch. He added the platform was critical to maintaining the country’s “digital sovereignty.”

UrbanTok combines short-form video, livestreaming and e-commerce tools, allowing creators to earn through paywalled content, virtual gifting, livestream ticketing, crowdfunding and advertising payouts. The app also integrates with M-Pesa, Kenya's dominant mobile money system, allowing users to receive payments without relying on international processors.

UrbanTok told The Daily Influence the platform is designed so creators can earn without relying purely on viral reach.

"A creator with a small but loyal audience can monetise through Pay-Per-View content, gifting, paid livestreams, or by selling through UrbanDuka. They don't need to 'go viral' to start earning," said Kerongo Bosire, a spokesperson for UrbanTok. UrbanDuka, the platform's e-commerce feature, allows creators to sell products directly to followers.

The launch comes as frustrations grow across Africa's creator economy over limited access to monetisation systems on major global platforms. Currently, only South Africa, Egypt and Morocco are included in TikTok's Creator Rewards Programme, despite creators across the continent driving major online engagement and internet culture. As previously reported by The Daily Influence, around six in ten African creators earn less than $100 a month from their work.

African countries have increasingly responded by backing locally built creator platforms. In February, Nigeria launched LekeeLekee, a mobile-first app combining short-form video, messaging and community features in one place.

“These aren't isolated efforts,” UrbanTok chief executive Naftal Obwoni wrote on LinkedIn. “They're the scaffolding of a new digital economy, one where creators aren't afterthoughts. They're the engine.”